A comedy featuring “four beautiful, badass women” set in the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror will soon take to the New West stage.
Vagabond Players presents The Revolutionists from April 24 to May 11 at Bernie Legge Theatre in Queen’s Park.
Lauren Gunderson's play tells a story of the18th century French playwright Olympe de Gouges as she struggles to write a play about the French Revolution. During the process, she is visited by four women who lived boldly during the Reign of Terror, each with a story to tell.
“Four beautiful, badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris,” says a synopsis of The Revolutionists.
“This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world. It’s a true story. Or total fiction. Or a play about a play. Or a raucous resurrection...that ends in a song and a scaffold.”
​Gunderson, a playwright, screenwriter, and short story author, was named the most produced playwright in America by American Theatre magazine in 2017, 2019 and 2023.
Samantha Alexandra, an educator, actor, and theatre artist who appeared as Mrs. Soames in Vagabond Players’ 2023 production of Our Town, is directing the show.
Is The Revolutionists just a story or is it a political satire? Is it a story of women's oppression fighting for the right to be heard? Is it a drama or a comedy?
"Well, let's call it a dramedy," Alexander says in a press release. "It's witty, funny, sarcastic and true (or is it). This play hits all the buttons. It's an important story given the times we live in."
Newcomers to the Vagabond Players stage are actors Katherine Morris of Burnaby, as Olympe de Gouges; Marion Landers as Marianne Angelle; and Ina Wang as Charlotte Corday. Burnaby resident Kelsey Robertson, who appeared in June 2024's production of Play On, takes on the role of Marie Antoinette.
The Revolutionists runs from Thursday, April 24 to Sunday, May 11, with evening shows on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and matinees on Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 604-521-0412.
Note: The Revolutionists contains mature content and coarse language.
